Juntwait disclosed "Electrical Contact Pins and Assemblies" in his U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,446 having one contact arm generally formed as C shape 22c for clamping a printed circuit board with another contact arm 23, which however can not develop a strong elastic force for clamping a circuit board since the C-shaped contact arm 22c is too short to have a longer force arm, thereby limiting its elasticity and clamping force. Similarly, a C-shaped curved spring 50 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,403 taught by Billman et al does not have a very long force arm and can not increase an elasticity of the contact terminals 10 of connector 2.
Kuhn et al and Billman et al respectively disclosed two opposed cantilever beams each being deflectable upon insertion of a circuit panel between the cantilever beams in their U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,722,700 and 4,973,270. However, such two opposed cantilevers are so symmetrically vertically erected on a base section so that they are suitable for clamping a circuit panel directly latched in a panel support member of the connector, and are not suitable for inclinedly rotating a circuit panel in a tilted panel holder. If it is inferentially to rotatably mount a circuit board inclinedly on a tilted latch of an electrical connector as clamped by the two opposed beams, the curved transition portions 24', 24 or loop sections 12c may be possibly overstressed to cause permanent set or deformation of the terminals, thereby affecting their clamping effect.
The present inventor has found the drawbacks of the conventional connectors, and invented the present contact element for use in an electrical connector having elongate clamping members with increased force arm for increasing a clamping force of the contact element.